What is your favorite sleeping position? Everyone has a favorite, whether it’s sleeping on their stomach, back, side or in the fetal position. But what does sleeping position have to do with your health and wellbeing? It’s well known that there are certain positions that are better for your back and neck, but what about your brain? There appears to be much more your sleeping position than meets the eye…
According to the Medical Daily, your sleep posture can influence everything from your well-being to your personality and even your brain health! A study by The Journal of Neuroscience suggests that side sleeping better allows the body to discard waste products, which in part can reduce the risk of neurological diseases like Alzheimers. Although the study was based on rodents, it’s speculated that the sleeping position has a similar advantage in humans:
The major finding of our study was that waste, including Aβ, removal was most efficient in the lateral position (compared with the prone position), which mimics the natural resting/sleeping position of rodents. Although our finding awaits testing in humans, we speculate that the lateral position during sleep has advantage with regard to the removal of waste products including Aβ, because clinical studies have shown that sleep drives Aβ clearance from the brain.” (source)
Read more at Medical Daily or read the full study here.
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